Iraq cuts US archaeology cooperation over Jewish archives

Middle East Online ^ | Tuesday, June 26, 2012 | Mohamad Ali Harissi

[SunkenCiv]

Iraq has cut cooperation with the United States on archaeological exploration because Washington has not returned Iraq's Jewish archives, Tourism and Archaeology Minister Liwaa Smaisim has said.

The fate of the archives, which were removed from Iraq following the 2003 US-led invasion, is a long-running point of contention between Washington and Baghdad, which has for years sought their return.

Smaisim, a member of powerful anti-US Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's movement, said in an interview with AFP that Iraq will use "all the means" to pursue the return of the archives.

"One of the means of pressure that I used against the American side is I stopped dealing with the American (archaeological) exploration missions because of the case of the Jewish archives and the antiquities that are in the United States," Smaisim said.

"The American side made many moves and pressure (for Iraq) to resume work with them but this is a final decision," he added.

The culture ministry says that millions of documents including the Jewish archives were transferred to the United States.

Seventy percent of the Jewish archives are Hebrew-language documents, with another 25 percent in Arabic and five percent in other languages, according to the ministry.

The archives, which were found in the flooded basement of the intelligence headquarters in Baghdad in 2003, include Torah scrolls, Jewish law and children's books, Arabic-language documents produced for Iraqi Jews and government reports about the Jewish community.

Iraq was home to a large Jewish community in ancient times, but its members left en masse after the creation of Israel and the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948.

[SunkenCiv]

'Iraq will take all steps to get these antiquities and the Jewish archives back'

[luvbach1]

When did their ancestors steal them?

[FreeAtlanta]

You can't trust the modern stupid Muslim radicals not to destroy them. i.e. the Buddhas of Bamiyan

[Argus]

They want Jewish archives, just no actual Jews.

[SunkenCiv]

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[Boogieman]

Just tell them, when they are ready to take the Jews back, they can have the Jewish archives back. That aught to shut them up.

[SJackson]

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Jewish archives? Muslim territory since Noah. Actually, Adom. Muslims, all.

[ApplegateRanch]

Iraq was home to a large kidnapped Jewish community in ancient times, but 70 years later its members left en masse after the rebuilding of Jerusalem & the Temple of God by Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah...

[Pharmboy]

Perhaps I am misunderstanding your post, but the Jews were in Babylonian exile for hundreds of years...not 70.

[publius911]

Just wondering...

Did all the artifacts in question ever belong to the Iraqi (Muslim) government?
They were stolen fair and square by the koranimals?

What?

[ApplegateRanch]

The Judeans were in captivity 70 years to the Babylonians, who had later captured Babylon. You are thinking of the Israelites, who had gone into captivity to the Assyrians 200 years earlier. This was the 70 year captivity of Nebuchadnezzar, followed by the Decree of Cyrus, and followed up by Artaxerxes

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Ezra 7:1-6
After these things, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, 2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, ... the son of Aaron the chief priest—this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him. 7 Some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers and temple servants, also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.
8 Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. 9 He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. 10 For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.

Ezra 8:1 8 These are the family heads and those registered with them who came up with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes: NIV

[ApplegateRanch]

Should have read The Judeans were in captivity 70 years to the Babylonians, then to the Persians, who had later captured Babylon. (From Belshazzar, of the Hand of God writing "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN" on the wall.)

[SJackson]

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[colorado tanker]

found in the flooded basement of the intelligence headquarters in Baghdad in 2003

That tells you all you needed to know right there. These documents were not in a museum, but were in the possession of the secret police.

[John O]

Jewish Archives? Give them to Israel, the Jewish state.

Problem solved

[wildbill]

They probably are hoping they can find any few Jews left in Iraq through these documents. Why else would they care?

[SunkenCiv]

:’) The article sez the documents had been gathered by the secret police. Sounds like they did someone (some non-Muzzie) a big favor.